Luke 11:1-13
We were to continue exploring Paul’s letter to the Colossians, however our gospel reading from Luke today is too compelling, and what a wonderful passage of scripture it is!
It is a portion of some of Jesus’ teaching on prayer, which is the source of all growth in the Christian life; by us for sure, but also by the fact that Jesus and the Holy Spirit themselves are constantly interceding (that is praying) for us!
It begins with the Lord’s Prayer (also recorded in Matthew’s gospel) – the great model of how to pray and what to pray for.
Then it moves on to the importance of perseverance in prayer, and concludes with an answer as to why we should pray and what happens when we do.
There is a full sermon in every line of the Lord’s prayer! But this morning we are focusing on the end of today’s gospel and homing in specifically on just two verses, 9-10.
After the Lord’s Prayer, these are two of the best-known verses in the gospels regarding Jesus’ teaching on prayer.
“So I say to you: ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.”
There is a progression of intensity here. A progression of desire in the heart to find the living God.
From asking, which is a passive act. To seek, which requires some mental action at least, some activity of the mind. And finally, to knock, which requires a physical act of will on our behalf, to actually do something.
As I examine my life, I see that this is just the way my prayer life has progressed since I was a young adult (O halcyon days!) Now if it was, and is, my experience, it will probably be others as well.
So, we come timidly to whoever or whatever we think is ‘out there’ or ‘up there.’ We name him or her, or it, God, or we may not name it anything at all.
It may just be a shape or name we give to a form of soul-searching we humans just can’t escape from doing.
We, as human beings, can’t help but ask questions about our existence. St Augustine of Hippo (in modern day Algeria in Northern Africa), an amazing black theologian and bishop who lived about 1600 years ago, said that ‘every heart is restless until it finds rest in God.’
So we come to this thing and ask the basic questions of life: ‘What am I doing here?’ ‘God, are you real, do you even exist?’ ‘If you exist, how can I know that you are not a figment of my imagination?’
What happens if we ask these great questions sincerely from the heart? Jesus says, ‘ask and it shall be given to you.’
How does God answer this prayer which comes from every heart at some stage, whether redeemed or not? What is given to all who sincerely ask?
What we are given is the desire to seek. From a general passive asking, ‘is there anyone there?’ We are led into a genuine seeking to find out. We have an inkling that someone or thing is there, but who or what is it? I must know!
Beware here! It is easy to seek from the wrong motives; human nature can sometimes seek to find the thing that will glorify or profit us. A supreme thing that will make life pleasant and easy and rich.
Something that will give us access to a sort of power in this life; something to supply what we think is missing from our lives. E.g. we might say to ourselves, ‘if only I owned this house, I would be happy.’
‘If only I could find someone who truly loved me, I would be happy.’ ‘If I just had…’ ‘If only …’ ‘If only I had these things, I wouldn’t be so horrible to everyone. I’d be a good person!’
Many people, even those who may identify as being Christian, get stuck at this stage of seeking. They want a God that will empower them to live an easy existence, where the whole goal of seeking this God is their own comfort.
That if God were real, of course he would make them financially comfortable. This is not seeking the Lord God Almighty, maker of heaven and earth and creator of all things, seen and unseen.
They remain baby believers and when the weeds of life grow up, their faith becomes choked and then dies.
God loves us far too much to give us what we may think we may be seeking, when that desire to find springs from a lazy form of selfishness. It would not be good for us.
God promises to give us the very things we do want in the new life we have through the life, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ. God our Father is a really good parent! A good parent doesn’t keep giving their 4-year-old chocolate, but what they really want, if only the child knew!
V.11 of today’s gospel says “Which of you fathers, if your child asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead. Or if they ask for an egg, will give them a scorpion.”
He gives us a new self and our new hearts’ desires. Every single one of them, which of course includes all of our material needs in this life, and then some. These choked off believers started from the wrong place. They hadn’t asked the right question.
So what do we find when we truly seek? We find the courage to knock! For if we really want to know what God is all about, it takes courage. To paraphrase C.S. Lewis, Jesus is not a tame lion! He is the warrior Lion of Judah.
If we knock, our lives will change immeasurably and forever. God gives us the courage to knock. Knock and the door will be opened for you. So we screw up our courage, like a visit to the dentist, and scratch shyly on the door.
Something happens however when we knock, no matter how softly or tentatively. Suddenly we want that door to be opened, like the neighbor in today’s passage asking for bread. We really want the bread. We really need that bread.
We become shamelessly audacious and start thumping on the door. Knock and the door will be opened for you.
Then … Then, this person opens the door with a huge grin on his face and looks you squarely in the eye and says your name; you can’t look away.
‘Come in, come to me, we’re about to eat this feast, come in, come to me, I’ve already got your place all set. The table is full of all your favourites! All of your heart’s desires.’
You asked, you sought, you found. The answer to every question is in the words of Jesus, ‘come to me.’ There is no more to be said. Let me pray.